Disconnected Youth in the Triangle

Knowledge Bank

Disconnected Youth in the Triangle: An Ominous Problem Hidden in Plain Sight

One in ten American youth ages 16 to 24 are disconnected from the conventional paths of education, work, and civic engagement that lead to productive adulthood. These youth are not in school or don't have a high school degree, not working or in the legitimate labor market, involved with the criminal justice system or facing significant domestic issues. In order to understand how this national problem affects the Research Triangle region of North Carolina, the GSK Foundation asked MDC to study disconnected youth in the Raleigh-Durham region. In August 2008, MDC released Disconnected Youth in the Triangle: An Ominous Problem Hidden in Plain Sight, a report that found that 6.6 percent of youth in the Triangle region were disconnected. The problem was most acute in Durham, where more than 30 percent of Durham youth between 16 and 24 were disconnected or at significant risk of becoming so.